Today, a leader must adapt his style according to the Generational
CODES of the people he is leading.  For most of history, generations have been separated in the workplace due to the hierarchical system inherited from the military leadership training and experiences of the G.I./Veteran generation. Work peers entering the workforce were predominantly close in age and generational perspectives. This has led to Traditionalists and Boomers being stunned to be taking orders from someone half their age whom they quietly mutter is still wet behind the ears. Let’s take a look at how Discipline and Leadership vary by Generation.

Traditionalists: Traditionalists believed in the promises of big institutions and organizations. The golden horizon was that one day you would have the seniority, and then it would be your turn to be the boss, call the shots, lead the troops. In the meantime, you gave your best, and waited with the expectation that eventually, the best would be returned to you.
For Traditionalists a “healthy” fear of the boss/commanding officer was considered wise. It was understood that moving forward was directly correlated to staying on the boss’s good side and making the boss look good. Traditionalists obeyed the chain of command and “dug in” to their place in the organization’s hierarchy. They followed the rules of the day and became “company men,” and for the most part, their expectations were met.
Times have changed.

Baby Boomers: Baby Boomers flooded the workforce with high hopes for the world and even higher expectations of changing the way work was done. With their secure childhood during the rise of productivity and growth in the High social mood behind them, young Boomers entered the workforce ready to challenge the authority and question “the man.” As young adults of the Consciousness Revolution, Boomers advocated turning the traditional corporate hierarchy upside down. Although Boomers may not like to remember it this way, they were considered very difficult to manage, and their entry into the workforce was not met with huge upticks in productivity. Why? They were arguing with everyone about everything, and if they weren’t happy about how they were being treated, they encouraged their peers to argue as well.

G.I. and Traditionalist bosses saw their questioning and challenging attitudes as rude, entitled, difficult to manage, and oh yes, lacking in strong work ethic. Sound familiar? Boomers were genuinely passionate about bringing fun and spirit into the workplace, but the reality fell a little short of the big goal. While Boomers read, talked, and shared their ideas and theories of egalitarian leadership and participative management, with 80 million peers/competitors, Baby Boomers quickly began learning the rules of the game and how to work the system. Non-Boomers who work for a Boomer Boss will tell you that their boss’s career habits, formed from working for command-and-control Traditionalists and G.I.s, are often still very much in evidence.

Gen Xers: With the boom of the 1970s ending with the bust of the ’80s recession, Gen Xers watched their parents scrape and scrap to climb the corporate ladder while hating their bosses, leaders, and jobs, but still basing their self-worth on the awards and recognition delivered by those same people and institutions. Xers saw their parent(s) work twenty-hour days and give up “quality time” with their family to work late and impress the boss. Xers’ innocence was stripped away when hard times hit and their parents were cut loose without warning in the prevailing economic recession winds of “down-sizing and right-sizing” for the company’s benefit.
Consequently, Xers are suspicious of all “corporate speak.” While prior generations believed in the companies that made social contracts with employees, such as, “You work hard for us, and we’ll take care of you,” Xers know firsthand that the corporate vision, mission, and values are generally only aspirational at best, and more accurately, would be found under the genre of science-fiction or fantasy. Xers feel like they are in a never-ending search to find a (work)place to call home and leaders whom they can trust and believe. Along with broken promises in the workplace, Xers experienced up close the moral bankruptcy of leaders at every level of private and public institutions.

Millennials: Millennials respect authority, but they do not fear it. Millennials had formative years filled with fans, friends, coaches, cheerleaders, and BFFs (Best Friend Forever). With Boomer parents wearing the BFF status as a medal of accomplishment, Millennials were encouraged to call their parents by their first names from birth and their grandparents by nicknames (Nana, Pop Pop). Consequently, Millennials have a very casual relationship with elders and authority figures. Parents knew what they should do, but the threat of their children not liking them, or making a public scene was enough to dissuade them from pushing the issue. From the time they were in diapers to texting at the dinner table, Millennials prevailed every time they
challenged their Boomer parents. Boomers’ commitment to being “liked” by their children meant removing the implementation of penalties or consequences for disobeying the leader/parent. No longer do we have the unquestioning, follow-the-rules Traditionalists in charge; now authoritarians are on trial. Boomers parents have organized the PTA into a significant political entity to fight collectively and individually on behalf of their Millennials when authoritative figures such as teachers, attempt to discipline or punish their children.

The key to effective leadership in the workplace is understanding one another’s views of discipline and authority. Generational CODES play an important role in this mutual understanding, and will be your key to success.